Jonathan bell



(No Model.) r

; r J. BELL.

Hydrocarbon Furnace.

No. 240,644 Pat ented April 26,1881;

rr/rxvgs sss. Y I NYE/V7051 N. PETERS, Puumu'mocfiukin. WASHINGTON. D. C.

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UNITED STATES Parent's Fi rce,

JONATHAN BELL, on New YORK, N. Y.

HYDROCARBON-FURNACE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No: 240,644, dated April 26, 1821, Application filed September 25, 1880. No model.)

To all whom "at may concern Be it known that I, JONATHAN BELL, of the city, county, and Stateof'New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Hydrocarbon-Furnaces, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention pertains to that class of devices in which ages for illuminating or heat ing purposes is produced from such hydrocarbons as petroleum or similar heavy or unrefined. substances; and the invention consists in,first, the method of utilizing'hydrocarbon liquids for heating purposes by forcing said liquid, in combination with steam, to and fro through tubes or pipes in a peculiarly-shaped apparatus, termed by me the generator, heated by its own gas, and then introducing-heated air into the current of liquid and vapor before its escape from the generator, as will hereinafter appear; and, second, the invention also consists in the peculiarform of the said generator, orcombined generator and heater, in which the liquid of which the gas is to be made is circulated to and fro by a circulating-pump, in combination with steam and hot air, before its complete conversion into gas, as will hereinafter appear.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus, showing the generator or heater and a steam-boiler above it and a forcepump for the oil and air below. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the generator or heater; and Fig. 3 is a partial section through the head of the same, to show the return-spaces from one flue to another in the generator or heater.

At A is represented the combined generator and heater, located in'a furnace, as at B, which is provided with a grate, as at O, for supporting the generator, as shown, and upon said grate a fire can be built to begin the operation.

Above the generator is located a boiler, as at D,to furnish steam for the generator, and also for power to-an engine, when required to run,

the pumps, and for other purposes, as driving machinery. In the arrangement here shown the boiler is provided with flues to return the heat after it has passed the bridge-wall, as at E, which is located at the end of the generator,

and a small stack, as at F, is mounted at the front end of the boiler, to assist in controlling the draft and carrying'off the smoke, &c.

The combined generator and heater is formed of cast-iron, preferably in the shape shown in the cross-section at Fig. 2, and tubes or holes, say of one and a half to two inches in diameter, are formed from end to end of the caslin g by cores, said tubes or pipes being shown at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, arranged as represented in Fig. 2 of the drawings. Ator near the ends of the generator the casting is enlarged, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, forming flanges Grand, H, the outer faces of which are finishedto receive heads K and L, which are fastened to the flanges G and H by screw belts or clamps of somekind to make thejoints gas'tight; In the faces of these headsare formed returngrooves, one of which is shown at M in Fig. 3, to return the liquid after passing through one tube or-pipesin the casting toanother, and so on, until it is forced through all the tubes in the generator. The head at'Kon the genera tor, inaddition to these return-groovesin its face, has a rib formed inits back, as at N, and it is made hollow, either by coring or drilling, to serve as a conduit for theliquid to the generator. The liquid is conducted to said conduit N by a pipe, as at O, which leads from a circulating-pump, as at P, which is driven in any convenient man nor, as bya belt or engine. Said pump is preferably made with three plungers, driven by cranks placed at thirds, so that a constant forcing of the liquid may be produced in the generator; The liquid of which the gas is chiefly made is fed to the pump by a pipe, as at R, which leads from a tank or reservoir located 'at asuflicient elevation to force the liquid to the-pump by its own gravity. Said pipe R is supplied with a stopcock, as at S, to regulate the flow of the liquid to the pump, and saidpump is provided with a three-way valve or three valves in the same chamber, to admit the liquid to each of the plungers.

At T another pipe is connected to the conduit-pipe from the pump, for the purpose of conveying steam from the boiler to the liquid in its passage to the generator, and said pipe is also provided with a regulating cook or valve, as W.

An air-pump, as at X, may be connected to the circulating-pump, for the purpose of forein g air into a heating-chamber, as at Y, formed of fire-brick, back of the bridge-wall, as shown at Fig. 1, and from thence the air, after being heated, is conducted by a tube, as at Z, to a conduit in the head K, where it is conducted to the end of the pipe 7 in the generator.

Any other method of heating the air, may be used, as bypassin git through pipes arranged around the walls of the furnace or in a separate stove for the purpose.

In connection with the lower pipe, 8, in the generator are outlet-holes for the escape of the gas, and to said holes any form'of burner may be attached; or they may be simply short tubes, as shown at H, from which, as the gas escapes, it burns, and the flame rises up along the corrugated sides of the generator, to keepit hot, as well as to heat up the boiler above it. In the operation of such an apparatus a tire is first formed on the grate, under the generator, of coke or other suitable fuel, to heat the generator and raise steam in the boilers. As soon as a sufficient pressure of steam is provided, the circulating-pumps are started, and the liquid is admitted to the pump P, which forces it toward the generator through the pipe 0; but during its passage steam is admitted to said pipe 0 from the boiler through the pipe T, and thus steam and liquid are forced into the generator, first through the tube 1, which is located near the center of the generator, and thence it is forced through to the return-groove in the head, at L, into pipe 2, and returns back to pipe 3, and thence to pipes 4, 5,6, and 7, the returns in the heads being made to correspond properly with said pipes. After the materialsas liquid, vapor, and gas-have entered the tube or pipe 7, hot air from the air-pump through the heating airchamber is forced into the end of the tube or pipe 7, and thus air is commingled with already well-heated vapors, to assist in still further expanding and rarefyin g the hydrocarbon substances and bringing them to a condition best adapted for burning; and as substances thus combined pass into tube 8 in the generator, they are ready to escape from the jets at t t as a highly-inflammable gas.

It is evident that after the gas has been first formed to supply the burners, then they can supply sufficient heat to keep the operation going on; and it is also intended to produce sufficient heat by such agenerator to furnish steam for driving machinery from the same boiler that supplies the generator.

An extra supply of gas may also be made in such a generator and taken from the tube 8 after the burners havebeen supplied to heat another furnace, as for smelting ores, 850., and which will form the subject of another application for a patent.

It is evident that some other form of injecting devices may be used, and also that the generator may be made in sections or in some other manner, or that the pipes may be cast separately and then combined, without departin g from the nature of my invention.

1 therefore claim- 1. The method of utilizing hydrocarbon liquids for heating purposes by forcing said liquid, in combination with steam, to and fro through tubes or pipes in a combined heater and gas-generatin g apparatus heated by its own gas, and then introducing heated air into the current of liquid and vapor before its escape from the generator, ashereinbefore set forth.

- 2. The heater or generator A, having a corrugated external surface, as shown, and provided with tubes or pipes extending from end to end, and heads with return-grooves in the faces thereof, as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In combination with the heater A, as described, a plunger-pump with suitable inletvalves for the liquid and a conducting-pipe from the pump to one head of the generator, which has a neck or extension on said'head to receive the pipe at the grate, with a steampipe from a boiler, as and for the purposes set forth.

4. In a hydrocarbonfurnace, the combination of an air-pump and air-heating chamber with a circulating-pump and gas-generator, substantially as described, and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' JONATHAN BELL. [L. s.|

Witnesses:

EUGENE N. ELIOT, BOYD ELIOT. 

